KOLKATA: For the first time in five years, Bengalis will have to go without ‘Padmar ilish (hilsa from the Padma)’ — a highly sought-after delicacy — ahead of and during Durga Puja this year, reports Subhro Niyogi.
The interim govt in Bangladesh has turned down a request from Kolkata based Fish Importers’ Association to continue with its country’s ‘hilsa diplomacy’ with India, prioritising domestic demand over export.
Under this policy, which now-deposed Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina pursued since 2019, Dhaka had been allowing the export of more than 1,000 tonnes of hilsa from the Padma to India for a month in the run-up to Puja every year.
The association, which coordinates with Bangladeshi fish exporters for hilsa trade each year, had written to Bangladesh govt adviser Touhid Hossain on Aug 9, pleading that the limited hilsa trade be allowed, like previous years. But Farida Akhtar, fish and animal resource ministry adviser in the interim govt, has rejected the demand, citing burgeoning domestic demand. According to reports from Dhaka, Akhtar has asked the commerce ministry to ensure there is no hilsa export this year.
Association secretary Syed Anwar Maqsood conceded that signs of getting ‘Padmar ilish’ are bleak. To add to Bengali gourmands’ woes, a 22-day hilsa fishing ban kicks in next month to allow the fish to lay eggs.
“Earlier, we had been importing around 5,000 tonnes of hilsa a year from Bangladesh through the Petrapole land customs station,” Maqsood said. “The trade was banned by the Bangladesh govt in 2012. From Sept 2019, govt had allowed hilsa trade only during Durga Puja as a goodwill gesture,” he added.
Last September, over 1,300 tonnes of hilsa was exported to India, the same as the year before, under the ‘hilsa diplomacy’. In 2021, 1,200 tonnes of hilsa was imported.
Maqsood pointed out that in all three years, the amount imported was lower than what had been sanctioned by the Bangladesh govt.
In the absence of trade through official channels, hilsa consignments are being smuggled across the border with Tripura and being ferried to Kolkata. Also available in the market are hilsa from Myanmar and Gujarat, which are considered less delectable than the Bangladesh variety.
The interim govt in Bangladesh has turned down a request from Kolkata based Fish Importers’ Association to continue with its country’s ‘hilsa diplomacy’ with India, prioritising domestic demand over export.
Under this policy, which now-deposed Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina pursued since 2019, Dhaka had been allowing the export of more than 1,000 tonnes of hilsa from the Padma to India for a month in the run-up to Puja every year.
The association, which coordinates with Bangladeshi fish exporters for hilsa trade each year, had written to Bangladesh govt adviser Touhid Hossain on Aug 9, pleading that the limited hilsa trade be allowed, like previous years. But Farida Akhtar, fish and animal resource ministry adviser in the interim govt, has rejected the demand, citing burgeoning domestic demand. According to reports from Dhaka, Akhtar has asked the commerce ministry to ensure there is no hilsa export this year.
Association secretary Syed Anwar Maqsood conceded that signs of getting ‘Padmar ilish’ are bleak. To add to Bengali gourmands’ woes, a 22-day hilsa fishing ban kicks in next month to allow the fish to lay eggs.
“Earlier, we had been importing around 5,000 tonnes of hilsa a year from Bangladesh through the Petrapole land customs station,” Maqsood said. “The trade was banned by the Bangladesh govt in 2012. From Sept 2019, govt had allowed hilsa trade only during Durga Puja as a goodwill gesture,” he added.
Last September, over 1,300 tonnes of hilsa was exported to India, the same as the year before, under the ‘hilsa diplomacy’. In 2021, 1,200 tonnes of hilsa was imported.
Maqsood pointed out that in all three years, the amount imported was lower than what had been sanctioned by the Bangladesh govt.
In the absence of trade through official channels, hilsa consignments are being smuggled across the border with Tripura and being ferried to Kolkata. Also available in the market are hilsa from Myanmar and Gujarat, which are considered less delectable than the Bangladesh variety.